My high school experience was extremely great. I knew that I was attending a good school while I was in high school but I never fully appreciated the education and opportunities it offered me until I came to college and hear about every one else's high school experiences. I went to a semi-private high school which basically means that I got to go to a private school for free because I lived in the district. Burr and Burton Academy is a prestigious high school known for it's high graduation and college acceptance rates as well as its array of class opportunities and amazing education. It is arguably the best high school in Vermont, and I was extremely lucky to go there. I was able to take not only courses that challenged me academically with teachers that were enthusiastic about their jobs and treated you like an individual, but also extra curricular and elective classes that aren't offered at many schools. This high school experience inspired me to want to be a teacher myself.
At Burr and Burton Academy, the teachers are extremely smart. I have had teachers who went to college on full scholarship and graduated top of their class, have a doctorate degree in physics from MIT, and multiple teachers who studied at Harvard. But it isn't about simply the name of the school they went to or how smart they are. Our teachers excelled in many different ways. We have many teachers who studied abroad, teachers who performed on broadway for years, teachers who were in the coast guard or the military, a teacher who has one leg and started a foundation to promote bicycling among cancer patients, as well as many others. But even above all that, what my teachers had was passion. They were all extremely happy to be teaching and enthusiastic about their subject. They taught us not just what we needed to know for tests, but anything we needed to know. I can distinctly remember my teachers writing on the board and getting so excited they would say, "You don't need to know this, but we'll do it anyway because it's so fun!"
I can think of four teachers that influenced me above all the others. The first was my Spanish teacher who I had for four years. He served on the coast guard and biked across America before living in Ecuador where he met his wife. He was goofy and funny, but most of all he was intelligent and caring. I always loved his classes. The second was my dance teacher. She and her husband co-taught the fine arts department of my school. They performed on broadway in CATS for 15 years. They were tough and not always nice but pushed us to continue. The third was my science teacher. He taught me chemistry and biology. He had a million stories to tell of his life growing up in Boston and about his current battle with leukemia. His class was never boring and even though I don't like science, I always liked his class. The last was my my honors precalculus teacher, arguably the hardest math class in the school if you ask around. He said if you like taking three lefts instead of a right then this is the class for you. He engaged us in class and helped us to understand the material as best we could. He treated each student as a person, not a child, and we all loved going to his class. He was more than a teacher, he was a friend that I could feel comfortable talking to about anything. He always pushed us to do our best.
I learned many lessons from these teachers. I learned that I can do anything if I work for it. They taught me that life is tough and not everyone is going to be nice to you. I learned to smile even through the tough times when you never wanted to. They taught me dedication. I was taught that if you are fierce you can conquer anything. But most of all these teachers inspired me. My teacher's love of math is what helped me to realize I want to be a math teacher. In Spanish we were shown slideshows of pictures taken before becoming a teacher and it inspired me to want to travel abroad and become fluent in another language. Having these teachers helped me not only to realize who I was, but who I wanted to be.
Burr and Burton's academics were not the only thing that made them a great school. We were also very well rounded. There was a place for any student to fit in and feel comfortable. Each person found their niche and flourished at this school. We offered amazing extra curricular classes spanning from dance, drama, and cinematography to space and time, myth and memoir, and Holocaust studies. Our sports teams were mostly division one and our state champion banners that hang in the gymnasium are about to fill all the available wall space. We put on amazing plays and concerts that were always sold out. We offer 5 or more study abroad trips each year to Europe, South America, and Africa. Our exchange student population makes up about a tenth of the students in school. We are more than just academics and high test scores.
My teachers gave me advice for my future without even meaning to. Through their dedication to their jobs they went above and beyond to teach life lessons. Their enthusiasm is something that is valued at Burr and Burton because not many schools are lucky enough to have teachers who enjoy their jobs so much. I received a great education and was offered so many opportunities. The extra curriculars allowed me to branch out and find out more about myself as an individual. I was able to join many different sport teams and take classes in subjects that I would have never known I had interest in. Burr and Burton's mission is to educate students intellectually and morally for a life of responsibility, integrity, and service-- but they do more than just that. They shape naive adolescents into well rounded adults and help each one of us discover where we belong.
At Burr and Burton Academy, the teachers are extremely smart. I have had teachers who went to college on full scholarship and graduated top of their class, have a doctorate degree in physics from MIT, and multiple teachers who studied at Harvard. But it isn't about simply the name of the school they went to or how smart they are. Our teachers excelled in many different ways. We have many teachers who studied abroad, teachers who performed on broadway for years, teachers who were in the coast guard or the military, a teacher who has one leg and started a foundation to promote bicycling among cancer patients, as well as many others. But even above all that, what my teachers had was passion. They were all extremely happy to be teaching and enthusiastic about their subject. They taught us not just what we needed to know for tests, but anything we needed to know. I can distinctly remember my teachers writing on the board and getting so excited they would say, "You don't need to know this, but we'll do it anyway because it's so fun!"
I can think of four teachers that influenced me above all the others. The first was my Spanish teacher who I had for four years. He served on the coast guard and biked across America before living in Ecuador where he met his wife. He was goofy and funny, but most of all he was intelligent and caring. I always loved his classes. The second was my dance teacher. She and her husband co-taught the fine arts department of my school. They performed on broadway in CATS for 15 years. They were tough and not always nice but pushed us to continue. The third was my science teacher. He taught me chemistry and biology. He had a million stories to tell of his life growing up in Boston and about his current battle with leukemia. His class was never boring and even though I don't like science, I always liked his class. The last was my my honors precalculus teacher, arguably the hardest math class in the school if you ask around. He said if you like taking three lefts instead of a right then this is the class for you. He engaged us in class and helped us to understand the material as best we could. He treated each student as a person, not a child, and we all loved going to his class. He was more than a teacher, he was a friend that I could feel comfortable talking to about anything. He always pushed us to do our best.
I learned many lessons from these teachers. I learned that I can do anything if I work for it. They taught me that life is tough and not everyone is going to be nice to you. I learned to smile even through the tough times when you never wanted to. They taught me dedication. I was taught that if you are fierce you can conquer anything. But most of all these teachers inspired me. My teacher's love of math is what helped me to realize I want to be a math teacher. In Spanish we were shown slideshows of pictures taken before becoming a teacher and it inspired me to want to travel abroad and become fluent in another language. Having these teachers helped me not only to realize who I was, but who I wanted to be.
Burr and Burton's academics were not the only thing that made them a great school. We were also very well rounded. There was a place for any student to fit in and feel comfortable. Each person found their niche and flourished at this school. We offered amazing extra curricular classes spanning from dance, drama, and cinematography to space and time, myth and memoir, and Holocaust studies. Our sports teams were mostly division one and our state champion banners that hang in the gymnasium are about to fill all the available wall space. We put on amazing plays and concerts that were always sold out. We offer 5 or more study abroad trips each year to Europe, South America, and Africa. Our exchange student population makes up about a tenth of the students in school. We are more than just academics and high test scores.
My teachers gave me advice for my future without even meaning to. Through their dedication to their jobs they went above and beyond to teach life lessons. Their enthusiasm is something that is valued at Burr and Burton because not many schools are lucky enough to have teachers who enjoy their jobs so much. I received a great education and was offered so many opportunities. The extra curriculars allowed me to branch out and find out more about myself as an individual. I was able to join many different sport teams and take classes in subjects that I would have never known I had interest in. Burr and Burton's mission is to educate students intellectually and morally for a life of responsibility, integrity, and service-- but they do more than just that. They shape naive adolescents into well rounded adults and help each one of us discover where we belong.